Surfboard Fins and Related Components

ABSTRACT

An elastic member is provided for enhancing retention of a surfboard fin that has been removably inserted in a surfboard. The surfboard fin has one or more receptacles. The elastic member has a capsule that is adapted to fit in one of the receptacles and has an opening, and which. The elastic member includes an elastic biasing member in the housing, and a protruding member that is biased by the elastic biasing member into a position where the protruding member protrudes through the opening.

CLAIM FOR PRIORITY

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to ProvisionalApplication No. 62/365,274, filed Jul. 21, 2016, which is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This application relates to surfboard fins and related components, suchas, for example, aftermarket components for surfboard fins orsurfboards.

BACKGROUND

A variety of water sport boards (e.g., surfboards, wake boards,windsurfing boards, kite boards, stand-up paddle boards), referred toherein as “surfboards,” may be provided with one or more fins to allowthe user to exert directional control to the surfboard in use. Further,the watersport enthusiast may exchange fins on the surfboard. Forexample, a user may want to select the surfboard's performance and feelaccording to the user's preference, ability, and/or water conditionsbeing encountered.

However, a user may desire to be able to further adapt his surfboardaccording to his preference, ability, and/or water conditions. A usermay also desire to improve the performance, durability, or safety of hissurfboard according to newly developed technologies. To do soconventionally, a user may have to purchase another surfboard or atleast purchase additional surfboard fins. Needing numerous differentsurfboards and/or surfboard fins can become expensive and inconvenientto transport.

Thus, there is a need for aftermarket products that can improve theperformance, durability, and safety of the surfboard fins and thesurfboard.

SUMMARY

An elastic member is provided for enhancing retention of a surfboard finthat has been removably inserted in a surfboard. The surfboard fin hasone or more receptacles. The elastic member comprises a capsule that isadapted to fit in one of the receptacles and has an opening. The elasticmember further comprises an elastic biasing member in the housing and aprotruding member that is biased by the elastic biasing member into aposition where the protruding member protrudes through the opening.

An elastic member is provided for enhancing retention of a surfboard finthat has been removably inserted in a surfboard. The surfboard fin hasone or more receptacles. The elastic member comprises a capsule that hasan opening. The capsule has an outer surface that is shapedsubstantially as a conical frustum to hold the elastic member within oneof the receptacles by mechanical resistance. The elastic member furthercomprises an elastic biasing member in the housing and a protrudingmember that is biased by the elastic biasing member into a positionwhere the protruding member protrudes through the opening.

An elastic member is provided for enhancing retention of a surfboard finthat has been removably inserted in a surfboard, by being inserted in areceptacle of the surfboard fin. The elastic member comprising a layerof elastomeric material rolled in a substantially cylindrical shape.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, and, together with the description,illustrate several embodiments and aspects of apparatuses and methodsdescribed herein.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side view of an embodiment of a surfboardfin.

FIG. 2 is a three-dimensional perspective view of an embodiment of partsof an elastic member that comprises a capsule, a ball bearing, and acoil spring to mechanically bias the ball bearing within the capsule.

FIG. 3 is a three-dimensional perspective view of an embodiment of partsof an elastic member that comprises a capsule, a ball bearing, and acoil spring to mechanically bias the ball bearing within the capsule,showing the ball bearing inside a part of the capsule.

FIG. 4 is a three-dimensional perspective view of an embodiment of partsof an elastic member that comprises a capsule, a ball bearing, and acoil spring to mechanically bias the ball bearing within the capsule,showing the parts in an assembled state.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram, from a side view, of an embodiment of anelastic member that has a capsule and a ball bearing protruding from thecapsule, showing an angle of an outer surface of the capsule.

FIG. 6 is a three-dimensional perspective view of an embodiment of auser-detachable surfboard fin that has receptacles containingelastomeric spacers.

FIG. 7 is a three-dimensional perspective view of another embodiment ofa user-detachable surfboard fin that has receptacles containingelastomeric spacers.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional side view of an embodiment of a surfboardfin that has an edge guard around the edge of the fin.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are cross-sectional side and front views, respectively,of an embodiment of a surfboard fin having a fairing.

FIGS. 10A, 10B, and 10C are cross-sectional side, from, and top views,respectively, of another embodiment of a surfboard fin having a fairing,the fin being inserted in a fin box that protrudes from the surface ofthe surfboard.

FIGS. 11A, 11B, and 11C are cross-sectional side, from, and top views,respectively, of another embodiment of a surfboard fin having a fairing,the fin being inserted in a fin box whose exposed surface issubstantially flush with the surface of the surfboard.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Surfboard fins may be provided that can be removably attached to asurfboard. “Surfboards” may refer to traditional surfboards, windsurfingboards, stand up paddle surfing (SUP) boards, paddleboarding boards, andother buoyant platforms used to enable people to traverse bodies ofwater or other liquid. A surfboard fin has a foil and a fin base. Thefin base may be inserted into the surfboard, such as either inserteddirectly into the surfboard or alternatively inserted into a fin boxthat is provided as an interface between the surfboard and the fin toattach the fin to the surfboard. The fin base may, in one embodiment,include two or more protruding base parts. For example, FIG. 9A, whichis discussed in more detail below, shows an embodiment in which a finbase 20 has two protruding base parts.

Examples of surfboard fins and fin boxes are described in U.S. Pat. No.8,282,434, issued Oct. 9, 2012, U.S. Pat. No. 8,393,928, issued Mar. 12,2013, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/379,151, filed Apr. 7, 2015,and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/549,698, filed Nov. 21, 2014,all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

The surfboard fin may have, at the fin base, one or more receptaclesconfigured to receive components. A receptacle may be shaped to hold acomponent with suitable force that the component is held in place at thefin base. For example, the receptacle may hold the component bymechanical and/or magnetic force. The receptacles may be, for example,threaded or non-threaded apertures. The apertures may be formed to beaccessed from opposing sides, such as apertures that have through holes.Alternatively, apertures may be formed to have blind holes. Examples ofshapes of the apertures include substantially cylindrically symmetricapertures, substantially elliptical shaped apertures, substantially ovalshaped apertures, or substantially rectangular shaped apertures. Suchapertures may be formed in the surfboard fin by drilling using amechanical drill bit of suitable dimension, laser drilling, or, in yetanother embodiment, by molding the surfboard fin to have the aperturetherein.

One example of an embodiment of a surfboard fin is illustrated inFIG. 1. Surfboard fin 10 has a foil 15 and a fin base 20. Fin base 20has different-sized receptacles 30A, 30B, 30C, which are circularlyshaped through-hole apertures, to receive elastic members (at 30A),elastomeric spacers (at 30B), and pins (at 30C). In this illustration,the four rightmost of receptacles 30A have elastic members insertedtherein, while the leftmost of receptacles 30A is unoccupied. In thisillustration, the leftmost and rightmost of receptacles 30B haveelastomeric spacers therein, while the middle one of receptacles 30B isunoccupied. In this illustration, both of receptacles 30C have metalpins therein.

One or more elastic members may be provided to be removably attached tothe surfboard fin at the receptacles. When the surfboard fin is in thesurfboard, the elastic members may apply elastic force between thesurfboard fin and the fin box or surfboard, which assists in keeping thesurfboard fin in the surfboard. Furthermore, the elastic members and/orthe receptacles may be adapted to substantially prevent unintentionaldetachment of the elastic member from the receptacle when the surfboardfin is not held in the surfboard. In one example, one or more of theelastic members are adapted to be removably attached to the surfboardfin by elastic pressure within the receptacle of the surfboard fin. Inanother example, one or more of the elastic members are removablyattached to the surfboard fin by being screwed into a threaded cavity ofthe surfboard fin. Other suitable forms of removably attaching one ormore of the elastic members to the surfboard fin are possible, such asby another interlocking mechanical arrangement and/or by magneticattraction.

Meanwhile, the fin box or surfboard may optionally have one or morerecesses, such as grooves, that correspond in location to the elasticmembers in the surfboard fin and are adapted to receive the elasticmembers when the surfboard fin is inserted into the fin box orsurfboard. Such recesses may enhance the attachment of the surfboard finto the fin box or surfboard.

Alternatively, one or more of the elastic members may be removablyattached to the fin box or surfboard (rather than to the fin base), toapply elastic force between the surfboard fin and the fin box orsurfboard. The fin box or surfboard may have receptacles permittingremovable attachment of the elastic members to the receptacles.Meanwhile, the fin base of the surfboard fin may optionally have one ormore recesses, such as grooves, that correspond in location to theelastic members in the fin box or surfboard and are adapted to receivethe elastic members when the surfboard fin is inserted into the fin boxor surfboard.

The elastic members may include, in one version, one or morespring-biased ball-bearing members of a substantially cylindrical shape.A spring-biased ball-bearing member may comprise a ball bearingcontained within a capsule that has an opening, the ball bearing beingmechanically biased by a spring to protrude through the opening of thecapsule. The ball bearing may be substantially rigid. For example, theball bearing may be made of metal, such as stainless steel or a titaniumalloy.

One example of an embodiment of a spring-biased ball-bearing memberhaving a substantially cylindrical shape is illustrated in FIGS. 2, 3,and 4. In this example, a spring-biased ball-bearing member 100comprises a capsule that includes a front portion 110 and a back portion120 to substantially enclose a ball bearing 130. Front portion 110 hasan opening 135 to allow ball bearing 130 to protrude therethrough.Member 100 also includes a spring 140 to bias ball bearing 130 intoopening 135.

Apart from use in a surfboard fin, such spring-biased ball-bearingmembers may be capable of being used for mounting other accessories.Such accessories for which the spring-biased ball-bearing members may beused in mounting include sports accessories, such as, for example,portable digital video cameras (e.g., GoPro® cameras). In this way, thespring-based ball-bearing members can serve manifold purposes for theuser.

In one embodiment, one or more of the elastic members may have an angledouter surface to fit securely in the receptacle. For example, theelastic member may have an outer surface that is shaped substantially asa conical frustum. This outer surface of the elastic member may contactan inner surface of the receptacle. The outer surface of the elasticmember may have an angle θ (relative to a longitudinal axis of theelastic member) to adapt the elastic member to be snapped into thereceptacle and held in place by mechanical resistance between the outersurface of the elastic member and the inner surface of the receptacle.In one example, the angle θ may be from about 1 to about 3 degrees whilethe receptacle has a substantially straight (i.e., not angled) innerwall, to permit the elastic member to be inserted into the receptaclewith relative ease while also causing the elastic member to be held inplace with suitable mechanical force after it has been inserted. For thesake of illustration, one example of an embodiment of elastic memberthat is a spring-biased ball-bearing member with a slightly angled outersurface (having angle θ) is shown in FIG. 5. The outer surface may alsobe angled in the opposite longitudinal direction, such as at an angle θof from about −1 to about −3 degrees.

In another embodiment, one or more of the elastic members contain aprojection at an outer surface of the elastic member to hold the elasticmember within the receptacle by mechanical resistance to substantiallyprevent the elastic member from being unintentionally dislodged, such asby accidental knocking, jarring, or vibrations. In one example, theprojection is configured in a radially asymmetric manner on an outersurface of the elastic member, such as, for example, a raised (e.g.,convex) protuberance in a substantially rounded form on the outersurface. The projection may be formed, for example, by molding when theelastic member is manufactured, or, in another example, by applying oneor more drops of hardening polyurethane, thermoplastic, epoxy,cyanoacrylate (“super glue”), or a suitable physically hardeningadhesive material. The receptacle may optionally have an indentation(e.g., concave portion) to accommodate the projection of the elasticmember such that the elastic member snaps into place when inserted intothe receptacle and is held sufficiently strongly by the receptacle tosubstantially prevent unintentional dislodgement.

Alternatively, the projection may be provided at an inner surface of thereceptacle to hold the elastic member within the receptacle. In thisversion, the elastic member may optionally have an indentation toaccommodate the projection at the inner surface of the receptacle suchthat the elastic member snaps into place within the receptacle tosubstantially prevent unintentional dislodgement.

The elastic member may be removably inserted into the receptacle bymechanical force applied by the user. For example, the user may use amallet or wooden block, together or without a buffer piece (e.g., awooden dowel), to force the elastic member into the receptacle.

One or more of the elastic members may also include, in another example,elastomeric spacers. The elastomeric spacers comprise elastomericmaterial. These elastomeric spacers may have a shape that is, forexample, substantially cylindrically symmetric, substantiallyelliptical, or substantially oval. For example, the elastomeric spacermay have the shape of a sheet of elastomeric material rolled in asubstantially cylindrical shape, with sufficient thickness of theelastomeric material to apply suitable pressure between the surfboardfin and the fin box or surfboard.

Two examples an embodiments of surfboard fins having elastomeric spacersare illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7. In these examples, surfboard fins 10have elastomeric spacers 40 in corresponding receptacles 30A. Surfboardfins 10 also have pins 50 for retaining surfboard fin 10 in a fin box orsurfboard.

Pins may also be provided for removable attachment to the surfboard finat one or more of the receptacles to retain the surfboard fin in the finbox or directly in the surfboard. Specifically, the pins may protrudefrom one or more sides of the fin base and, when the surfboard fin isinserted into the fin box or surfboard, the pins may be held insidegrooves or other recesses formed in one or more inner surfaces of anaperture (or “hollow”) of the fin box or surfboard that is adapted toreceive the fin base of the surfboard fin. The pins may be shaped to belocked into and/or slide within the grooves or other recesses, such asby being substantially cylindrically shaped. In one embodiment, two pinsare removably attached at receptacles at two different locations of thefin base, the attachment locations of the pins corresponding to groovesin a fin box or surfboard. The pins may be suitably rigid, and may havea suitably high tensile strength and shear strength, to retain the massof the surfboard fin even against forces produced by strong water flowsagainst the fin in various directions. For example, the pins maycomprise stainless steel, titanium alloy, plastic, or another suitablematerial.

Alternatively, the pins may be nonremovably formed on the surfboard fin.For example, the pins may be molded together with the surfboard fin,such as molded of the same material as the fin base.

One or more edge guards may be provided to protect an edge of thesurfboard fin, such as a leading edge or a trailing edge of the foil ofthe surfboard fin. The edge guard may also protect a person from injuryby mechanical collision with the edges of the surfboard fin. In additionor in the alternative, the edge guards may be adapted to improvehydrodynamic flow around the surfboard fin (e.g., to reduce hydrodynamicdrag). For example, the edge guard has an outward-shaping edge that issubstantially rounded, sharp, or beveled.

The edge guard may comprise a substantially pliable or substantiallydeformable material. For example, the edge guard may comprise urethane,polyurethane, silicone, rubber, or another suitable material. In oneexample, the edge guard is adhered to the edge of the surfboard fin.However, other forms of attaching the edge guard to the surfboard finmay be used. For example, an edge guard may elastically fit around thesurfboard fin, or, in another example, an edge guard may be heat shrunkto fit around the edge of the surfboard fin. One example of anembodiment of a surfboard fin with an edge guard adhered to the edge ofthe foil is illustrated in FIG. 8. In this example, edge guard 200 wrapsaround foil 15 all the way from the beginning of the leading edge to theend of the trailing edge of foil 15.

One or more fairings may also be provided at the juncture between thesurfboard fins and the surfboard, such as at the juncture between thesurfboard fins and the fin box. Such a fairing may improve hydrodynamicperformance of the surfboard, such as by mitigating interference drag.The fairing may also protect the base of the surfboard fin and/or areceiving portion of the fin box or the surfboard, such as protectingthese parts from impact damage or the introduction of contaminants(e.g., sand or saltwater). In one example, the fairing is attached tothe base of the surfboard fin. In other examples, however, the fairingis attached to a fin box that is received in the surfboard or the finbase may be attached directly to the surfboard. The fairing may beconfigured to be removably attachable or, alternatively, the fairing maybe nonremovably attached—such as, for example, by gluing or molding—tothe surfboard fin, the fin box, or the surfboard.

Examples of certain embodiments of fairings for surfboard fins areillustrated in FIGS. 9A, 9B, 10A, 10B, 10C, 11A, 11B, and 11C. In FIGS.9A and 9B, surfboard fin 10 has a fairing 300 disposed at the bottomportion of foil 15, just above fin base 20. FIG. 9A shows a side profileof surfboard fin 10, while FIG. 9B shows a front profile of the same.

In FIGS. 10A, 10B, and 10C, surfboard fin 10 has a larger and moresmoothly sloping fairing 300 disposed at the bottom portion of foil 15,just above fin base 20. Fin base 20 is shown inserted into a fin box310, which is attached to a surfboard 320. Fairing 300 abuts, from thetop, fin box 310. FIG. 10A shows a side profile of surfboard fin 10,while FIG. 10B shows a front profile of the same and FIG. 10C shows atop profile of the same. In this example, fin box 310 protrudes from thesurface of surfboard 320.

In FIGS. 11A, 11B, and 11C, surfboard fin 10 again has a larger and moresmoothly sloping fairing 300 than in the example illustrated in FIGS. 9Aand 9B. Fin base 20 is shown inserted into a fin box 310 and abutting,from the top, fin box 310. FIG. 11A shows a side profile of surfboardfin 10, while FIG. 11B shows a front profile of the same and FIG. 11Cshows a top profile of the same. In this example, fin box 310 may beinserted into a receptacle or cavity of the surfboard such that theexposed surface of fin box 310 is substantially flush with the surfaceof the surfboard.

Various components of surfboard fins may be provided separately, such asto end users. For example, a surfboard fin having receptacles forelastic members (e.g., spring-biased ball-bearing members and/orelastomeric spacers) may be sold or otherwise provided without theelastic members themselves, so that the end user can provide his ownelastic members of his choice. The elastic members (e.g., spring-biasedball-bearing members and/or elastomeric spacers) may also be sold orotherwise provided separately, so that the end user can attach theseelastic members to his own surfboard fin, such as to replace older orworn elastic members. In such a manner, components (e.g., surfboard finsand elastic members) can be reused, replaced, and/or interchanged.

It is noted that, as used herein and in the appended claims, thesingular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural referents unless thecontext clearly dictates otherwise. As will be apparent to those ofordinary skill in the art upon reading this disclosure, each of theindividual aspects described and illustrated herein has discretecomponents and features which may be readily separated from or combinedwith the features of any of the other several aspects without departingfrom the scope or spirit of the disclosure. Any recited method can becarried out in the order of events recited or in any other order that islogically possible. Accordingly, the preceding merely providesillustrative examples. It will be appreciated that those of ordinaryskill in the art will be able to devise various arrangements which,although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principlesof the disclosure and are included within its spirit and scope.

Furthermore, all examples and conditional language recited herein areprincipally intended to aid the reader in understanding the principlesof the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventor(s) tofurthering the art, and are to be construed without limitation to suchspecifically recited examples and conditions. Moreover, all statementsherein reciting principles and aspects of the invention, as well asspecific examples thereof, are intended to encompass both structural andfunctional equivalents thereof. Additionally, it is intended that suchequivalents include both currently known equivalents and equivalentsdeveloped in the future, i.e., any elements developed that perform thesame function, regardless of structure. The scope of the presentinvention, therefore, is not intended to be limited to the exemplaryconfigurations shown and described herein.

In this specification, various embodiments have been described withreference to the accompanying drawings. It will be apparent, however,that various other modifications and changes may be made thereto andadditional embodiments may be implemented. The specification anddrawings are accordingly to be regarded in an illustrative rather thanrestrictive sense.

We claim:
 1. An elastic member for enhancing retention of a surfboardfin that has been removably inserted in a surfboard, the surfboard finhaving one or more receptacles, the elastic member comprising: a capsuleadapted to fit in one of the receptacles, the capsule having an opening;an elastic biasing member in the housing; and a protruding member thatis biased by the elastic biasing member into a position where theprotruding member protrudes through the opening.
 2. The elastic memberof claim 1, wherein the capsule comprises a front portion and a backportion that are adhered together to at least partially enclose theelastic biasing member and protruding member.
 3. The elastic member ofclaim 1, wherein the capsule has an outer surface that is shapedsubstantially as a conical frustum to hold the elastic member within thereceptacle by mechanical resistance.
 4. The elastic member of claim 3,wherein the outer surface of the capsule is angled at from about 1degree to about 3 degrees relative to an axis of the capsule, thecapsule being wider at the side with the opening than at the opposingside.
 5. The elastic member of claim 1, wherein the outer surface of thecapsule comprises one or more raised and substantially roundedprotuberances, the protuberances being adapted to hold the elasticmember within the receptacle by mechanical resistance.
 6. The elasticmember of claim 5, wherein each of the protuberances comprises one ormore of polyurethane, thermoplastic, epoxy, and cyanoacrylate.
 7. Theelastic member of claim 1, wherein the outer surface of the capsulecomprises one or more substantially rounded indentations, theindentations being adapted to hold the elastic member within thereceptacle by mechanical resistance.
 8. The elastic member of claim 1,wherein the outer surface of the capsule has a screw thread to allow theelastic member to be screwed into the receptacle.
 9. The elastic memberof claim 1, wherein the protruding member is a metal ball bearing. 10.The elastic member of claim 1, wherein the elastic biasing member is acoil spring.
 11. An elastic member for enhancing retention of asurfboard fin that has been removably inserted in a surfboard, thesurfboard fin having one or more receptacles, the elastic membercomprising: a capsule comprising an outer surface that is shapedsubstantially as a conical frustum to hold the elastic member within oneof the receptacles by mechanical resistance, the capsule having anopening; an elastic biasing member in the housing; and a protrudingmember that is biased by the elastic biasing member into a positionwhere the protruding member protrudes through the opening.
 12. Theelastic member of claim 11, wherein the capsule comprises a frontportion and a back portion that are adhered together to at leastpartially enclose the elastic biasing member and protruding member. 13.The elastic member of claim 11, wherein the outer surface of the capsuleis angled at from about 1 degree to about 3 degrees relative to an axisof the capsule, the capsule being wider at the side with the openingthan at the opposing side.
 14. The elastic member of claim 11, whereinthe outer surface of the capsule comprises one or more raised andsubstantially rounded protuberances, the protuberances being adapted tohold the elastic member within the receptacle by mechanical resistance.15. The elastic member of claim 14, wherein each of the protuberancescomprises one or more of polyurethane, thermoplastic, epoxy, andcyanoacrylate.
 16. The elastic member of claim 11, wherein the outersurface of the capsule comprises one or more substantially roundedindentations, the indentations being adapted to hold the elastic memberwithin the receptacle by mechanical resistance.
 17. The elastic memberof claim 11, wherein the outer surface of the capsule has a screw threadto allow the elastic member to be screwed into the receptacle.
 18. Theelastic member of claim 11, wherein the protruding member is a metalball bearing.
 19. The elastic member of claim 11, wherein the elasticbiasing member is a coil spring.
 20. An elastic member for enhancingretention of a surfboard fin that has been removably inserted in asurfboard, by being inserted in a receptacle of the surfboard fin, theelastic member comprising a layer of elastomeric material rolled in asubstantially cylindrical shape.